An 1872 decorative arts masterpiece

Alexander Ramsey rose within the political ranks of Pennsylvania before coming with his wife Anna and the first of their three children to Minnesota in 1849. He eventually served as the state's second governor, mayor of St. Paul, a U.S. senator, and a secretary of war.

Three generations of the Ramsey family came to occupy this handsome native limestone home. In 1964, on the death of the last surviving family member, it was willed to MNHS — which Ramsey himself founded.